Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Louisville Cardinals Prediction, 2/4/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Louisville Cardinals

Date: Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, KY

TV: ESPN2

KFC Yum! Center is the site where the Louisville Cardinals (15-6) will attempt to beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-11) on Wednesday.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish faced off with Syracuse and ended up losing by a score of 86-72 in their last contest. When talking about fouls, the Fighting Irish finished with 16 while Syracuse racked up 18 fouls. They buried 10 of 25 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Syracuse finished the game shooting 57.1% at the free throw line by burying 12 of 21 shots. Moreover, Syracuse totaled 32 rebounds (5 offensive, 27 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Syracuse distributed 21 dimes and had 7 steals in the game. In relation to defense, Notre Dame let their opponent shoot 57.1% from the field on 32 of 56 shooting. They also distributed 11 dimes for the matchup as well as forcing the opposition into 6 turnovers and getting 3 steals. In the matter of pulling down boards, they compiled a total of 24 with 2 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Fighting Irish made 14 of their 20 tries for a percentage of 70.0%. Notre Dame walked away from the game having earned a 49.1% field goal percentage (26 of 53) and made 6 out of their 22 shots from downtown.

Jalen Haralson is a player who came through in the game. He notched 26 points on 9 out of 12 shooting. He played for 31 minutes and also totaled 2 boards. He ended up going 75.0% from the field and also earned 4 assists.

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Notre Dame heads into this game with a win-loss record of 11-11 on the campaign. They cough up possession 11.5 times per game and as a team they commit 17.5 personal fouls per contest. As a team, Notre Dame is pulling in 37.1 boards per game and has earned 264 assists this season, which ranks 323rd in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Fighting Irish are connecting on 35.2% on shots from beyond the arc (185 of 526) and 69.9% from the charity stripe. They average 74.0 points per game (245th in the country) while shooting 45.0% from the floor.

On defense, the Fighting Irish are able to force 9.4 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.9 personal fouls. They currently rank 152nd in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 290 conceded this season. The Fighting Irish are allowing a FG percentage of 43.2% (542 of 1,255) and they surrender 32.2 boards per game as a team. They give up 31.8% on shots from distance and they rank 141st in college hoops in opponents points per game (72.2).

In their last game, the Louisville Cardinals took home the win by a final score of 88-74 against SMU. In relation to rebounding, Louisville permitted SMU to snag 34 overall (9 on the offensive side). They shot 32.0% from 3-point land by going 8 of 25 and walked away from this one shooting 6 of 9 at the free throw line (66.7%). The Cardinals permitted SMU to make 30 of 62 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 48.4% in this matchup. When this game wrapped up, the Cardinals ended up shooting 31 out of 63 from the floor which had them shooting 49.2%. Regarding shots from beyond the perimeter, Louisville converted 10 out of their 35 tries (28.6%). They were able to knock down 16 of those for a clip of 69.6%. SMU earned 20 personal fouls for this game which took the Cardinals to the charity stripe for 23 attempts. They gave up possession 11 times, while recording 9 steals in the matchup. The Cardinals snagged 26 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards totaling 35 in this game.

Mikel Brown Jr. ended up being a major contributor for the Cardinals for the contest. He scored 20 points in his 29 minutes on the hardwood and earned 4 assists in this game. He made 7 of 14 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and had 3 rebounds.

Louisville has a record of 15-6 this year. The Cardinals commit 18.9 fouls per game and they hit 76.5% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 17.6 times per contest (24th in college) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.5 times per game. Louisville has accounted for 1,808 pts for the campaign (86.1 per contest) and they pull in 40.4 boards per contest. As an offensive team, the Cardinals are hitting on 46.3% from the field, which is ranked 126th in the nation.

The Cardinals on the defensive end are ranked 90th in college hoops in points given up per game with 70.5. They are forcing 12.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 40.4% from the floor (35th in Division 1). The Louisville defense gives up 33.5% on shots from beyond the arc (172 of 514) and opponents are converting on 70.6% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have surrendered 11.5 assists and 34.2 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 49th and 168th in those categories on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Louisville

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